Awe! Movie Review

Awe! Story: ‘Awe’ charts the journey of a motley of characters that have nothing to do with each other but are yet connected by a single, fragile string. Who are these people and what about their lives connect them to each other is what the film is all about.

Awe! Review: Radha (Eesha Rebba) and her partner Krishnaveni (Nithya Menen) are a couple trying to convince the former’s parents to give their blessings to the union. Nala (Priyadarshi) is a man who’s down on luck and pretending to be a chef so he can gain some meaningful employment. He befriends a goldfish named Nani (Nani) and a bonsai tree named Chanti (Ravi Teja) in the kitchen. Shiva (Srinivas Avasarala) is a watchman who wants to be a scientist and invent a time machine, while Parvathy (Devadarshini) claims him and her are two sides to the same person. Moksha is a little kid working at her mother’s restaurant and engaged in a cold war with an egoistic magician Yogi (Murli Sharma). Meera (Regina Cassandra) is a waitress and drug addict, gearing up to loot a rich man with her boyfriend. And last but not the least, Kali (Kajal Aggarwal) is a troubled woman who decides to kill herself and commit a mass murder on her birthday. What’s the connecting link between all these characters forms the crux of this ingenious tale.

To reveal anything about the story of ‘Awe’ would be a grave injustice to the cinematic experience that the film is. If taken out of context, the quote from Bhagavat Gita, “There has never been a time when you and I have not existed, nor will there be a time when we will cease to exist,” describes the film best. The filmmakers had hinted a lot in the first poster of the film and Prasanth comes through, delivering all that and more in the film. Not only does he handle sensitive subjects like sexual abuse, child abuse, mental illness, suicidal tendencies, same-sex relationships and gender identity in a mature manner, he also steers clear of anything that reeks of commercialism or cliché. The film is devoid of songs, except for the theme that plays during the opening credits. To fit ‘Awe’ into a genre is also genuinely difficult because it contains elements of suspense, thriller, comedy and romance, all in one perfect package. But like Prasanth and the filmmakers had previously claimed, there’s no one lead character in the story, it’s the screenplay that’s the hero of this tale.

Prasanth has delivered the tale in a manner that has probably never been explored in Tollywood, and maybe even in Indian cinema. With a huge star cast like that, one expects the proceedings to get too complicated to understand or follow, but that never happens with ‘Awe’. One also expects him to get hung up on some of the characters more than others, which never happens too. The way the stories interconnect is unpredictable because Prasanth never even gives the viewer enough chance to think or even deliberate on what’s happening on screen with his taut narration. The best part of ‘Awe’ is that it almost feels like an interactive film. More than the characters on screen, it is you playing witness to the proceedings and connecting the dots. The star cast is stupendous at their roles, breathing life into characters and making you care and invest in each and every one of them. Mark K Robin’s music and Karthik Ghattamaneni’s visuals deserve a special mention for blending in well with the narrative.

‘Awe’ is the kind of film that will either make you fall in love with it or hate it to the core. The proceedings run at a speed that could be irksome to some and those expecting this to be a typical Tollywood film that elevates their favourite actor or actress, will be majorly disappointed. The concept of the film itself too is a give or take, either you connect to it or you don’t. Prasanth and Nani gambled with this one, especially with a climax like that, and it paid off for them!

Go watch this film if you’re looking for something definitely out of the box and fresh, ‘Awe’ will not disappoint you. Also, keep an eye out for Easter Eggs that will help you connect the dots because that’s what makes the film all the more interesting.

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